WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Which is Better? (Comparison Chart)

Did you know that WordPress.com and WordPress.org are actually two very different platforms? Often beginners confuse the two which leads them to choose the wrong platform. We’re often asked by our users which is the better platform: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. To help answer that, we have created the most comprehensive comparison of free WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (self-hosted version).

Our goal is highlight the key differences between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, so you can choose the right platform for your needs.

Since choosing the right platform is crucial for your online success, we have created the most complete comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org ( text comparison, table-based comparison, and a full infographic).

If you just want to start a blog or make a website the RIGHT way, then you can skip this article and head over to our guides here:

Having said that, let’s take a look at the differences between self-hosted WordPress.org vs WordPress.com.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (Infographic)

Note: This infographic and article compares the powerful self-hosted WordPress.org with the free WordPress.com hosting service. You can unlock additional features in WordPress.com by upgrading to their paid service. We have highlighted those features as well.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Comparison

The best way to understand the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org is to take a look at each platform individually.

WordPress.org

WordPress.org aka “the real WordPress”, is the popular website platform that you have heard all the great things about.

It is open source and 100% free for anyone to use. All you need is a domain name and web hosting. This is why it is also referred to as self-hosted WordPress.

Below are the pros and cons of using the self-hosted WordPress.org to build your website or blog.

WordPress.org Benefits

With WordPress.org, you have full control of your website. You are free to do anything you want and customize it as much as you need. Here are some of the benefits of choosing WordPress.org to build your website, and the reason why it is the go-to choice.

You own your website and all its data. Your site will NOT be turned off because someone decides that it is against their terms of service (as long as you are not doing something illegal). You are in full control.

You can use powerful tools like Google Analytics for custom analytics and tracking.

You can use self-hosted WordPress to create an online store to sell digital or physical products, accept credit card payments, and deliver / ship the goods directly from your website.

You can also create membership sites and sell memberships for premium content, courses, etc and build an online community around your website.

WordPress.org Cons

There are a very few cons of using the self-hosted WordPress.org site.

Like all websites, you will need web hosting. This is where your website files are stored on the internet. Initially, the cost is around $3-$10 per month. However as your website grows and gets more traffic, the web hosting costs will increase as expected, but then you would be making enough money to cover the costs.

You are responsible for updates. You can easily update your WordPress site by simply clicking on the update button (1-click), so it’s not too much work.

You are responsible for backups. Thankfully, there are tons of WordPress backup plugins that let you setup automatic backups.

The real cost of WordPress.org website varies based on what you are trying to build (simple blog, portfolio website, eCommerce store, membership site, etc). There are also other factors like free templates vs premium templates, free plugins vs premium plugins, etc.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a hosting service created by the co-founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg. Because of the same founder, often users confuse WordPress.com with the popular WordPress.org software.

The WordPress.com hosting service has 5 plans:

Free – Very limited.

Personal – $36 per year

Premium – $99 per year

Business – $299 per year

VIP – starting at $5000 per month

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of WordPress.com.

WordPress.com Benefits

The free WordPress.com platform is a good choice for hobby bloggers and those starting a blog for their family. Here are some of the benefits of using WordPress.com:

It’s free for up to 3GB of space. After that you will have to switch to a paid plan for more space. (Personal plan $36 /year gives you 6GB, Premium plan $99/year gives you 13GB storage, or Business plan for $299/year for unlimited storage).

You will not have to worry about updates or backups. WordPress.com will take care of that.

They place ads on all free websites. So your users will see ads, and you don’t make money from it. If you don’t want your users to see their ads, then you can upgrade to a paid plan (starting from $36 per year).

You are NOT allowed to sell ads on your website. If you run a high traffic site, then you can apply for their advertising program called WordAds where you share revenue with them. Premium and Business plan users can use WordAds right away.

You cannot upload plugins. Free plan users get built-in JetPack features pre-activated. Business plan users can install from a selection of compatible plugins ($299 / year). WordPress.com VIP program lets you install plugins, and it starts from $5000 per month.

You cannot upload custom themes. Free plan users can only install from the limited free themes collection. Premium and business plan users can also select premium themes. There are limited customization options for the free version. Premium and Business plan users can use custom CSS.

You are restricted to their stats. You cannot add Google Analytics or install any other powerful tracking platform. Business plan users can install Google Analytics.

They can delete your site at anytime if they think it violates their Terms of Service.

Your site will display a powered by WordPress.com link. It can be removed by upgrading to the Business plan.

WordPress.com does not offer any eCommerce features or integrated payment gateways.

You cannot build membership websites with WordPress.com.

As you can see, the WordPress.com hosting platform is quite limited when you’re on the free, personal, or even premium plan. To unlock some of the more advanced features, you have to be on the Business plan ($299 per year) or on the VIP plan ($5000 per month).

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (FAQs)

Since this is a popular topic, and WPBeginner is the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners, we get tons of questions regarding WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.

We have done our best to answer the most frequently asked questions below:

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Which is Better?

If you are a personal blogger, and you don’t care about making money from your website, then go with the free WordPress.com.

If you are a business or a blogger that wants to make money from your site, then we recommend using the self-hosted WordPress.org. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to grow your website the way you want.

While you can get several advanced features with the WordPress.com Business plan ($299 / year for each website), you can make that money go much further on a self-hosted WordPress site which costs $46 per year.

In our expert opinion, WordPress.org is hands down the better platform. That’s the platform that every professional blogger, small business owner, and even big name brands likes Disney uses.

How do I start a WordPress.org Website?

To start a self-hosted WordPress website, you need a domain name and WordPress hosting.

A domain name is your website’s address on the internet such as google.com, kaisercentergarage.com, etc. Web hosting is where your website files are stored on the internet.

We recommend using Bluehost for hosting your website because they are one of the largest web hosting companies in the world. They’re also an official WordPress.org recommended hosting provider. Last but not least, they’re offering our users a free domain + 60% off on hosting.

If you need help, WPBeginner team can even build your website for free. Learn more about how our free WordPress blog setup works.

Can I move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org?

Often new users who don’t know the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org end up starting with the free WordPress.com service. Once they see the limitations of the platform, they want to switch to “the Real WordPress” aka WordPress.org.

Yes, you can definitely switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and fairly easily move all of your content.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org – Summary

The best way to think about the differences between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org is the analogy of renting a house vs. owning a house.

WordPress.com is similar to renting a house. You have limited power and control over what you can and cannot do.

WordPress.org is like owning a house. Where you have full control, no one can kick you out, and you can do anything that you want.

Below is the summary of everything we discussed above in our self-hosted WordPress.org vs WordPress.com comparison:

WP.org (Platform)

WP.com (Free)

WP.com (Premium)

WP.com (Business)

Cost

$46 - $100 / year

Free

$99 / year

$299 / year

Custom Domain

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Hosting Storage

Unlimited

3 GB

13 GB

Unlimited

Monetization Freedom

Yes

No

Yes (with rev/share)

Yes (with rev / share)

Branding Freedom

Yes

No

No

Yes

All SEO Features

Yes

No

No

Yes

Powerful Analytics

Yes

No

No

Yes

Full Theme Support

Yes

No

Limited

Yes

Full Plugin Support

Yes

No

No

Yes

Ecommerce Store

Yes

No

No

No

Membership Site

Yes

No

No

No

Maintenance

Yes

No

No

No

Full Control

Yes

No

No

No

Final Thoughts

The confusion created by the similar domains: WordPress.com vs WordPress.org is quite unfortunate for beginners. There is a lot of history behind the decisions, and you can read more about that in our article how WordPress.com and WordPress.org are related.

Our hope is that you found this article helpful in understanding the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

We wish you all the best with your website and hope that you chose the right platform: WordPress.org.

Thanks for such an insightful article. I have been going back and forth trying to decide on a platform to start on for blogging and ecommerce. This article cleared up a lot of the confusion I had between WordPress.org and WordPress.com., and has helped me make a decision on which would be the best route to take. I have been back and forth with the many different sites such as Shopify, Bigcommerce, Woocommerce, etc. for ecommerce and didn’t feel like any of those had exactly what I was looking for. I felt like they were still missing something. WordPress kept coming up and I was very hesitant on whether or not WP would give me the freedom of customization that I was searching for to make the site truly mine. Cost to get started was also something that was an issue and looking at this nice breakdown that you’ve provided makes it clear for me to choose which would be the best option to accomplish my goals!

I got a homework from my teacher, it is to make a vlog about making a blog (sooo stupid for me…. Especially when you are an introvert). i don’t want to waste money, so which one that is better for me? :/

Hi, if I’ve got a Personal plan on WordPress.com, do I lose the subscription fee if I migrate to WordPress.org? Also, am I guaranteed to get the same domain name when I migrate to the new host? Thanks!

If you recently signed up for WordPress.com, then you can contact them to see if you are eligible for a refund. As for domain name, you can use your custom domain on your self-hosted WordPress.org site.

Thank you for your in-depth comparisson between these two platform.This is exactly what i have been looking for.
But,why would some one use wp.com if they can get almost anything they needs for free with wp.org?
I am confused…

Why would you want to rename the wamp64 file? You are probably trying to rename the WordPress folder that you downloaded. Yes you can totally work on WordPress locally before going live. See our guide on how to install WordPress locally on your computer using WAMP.

“While you can get several advanced features with the WordPress.com Business plan ($299 / year for each website), you can make that money go much further on a self-hosted WordPress site which costs $46 per year.”

Does this mean if you buy from Bluehost you can have access to the plugins or do you still have to buy the business plan from WordPress in order to install those plugins, which costs around $245 a year up front? A bit confused about this. As a complete newbie it looks like I can buy web hosting BUT I still have to buy the business plan in order to use the plugins.

Hi and thanks so much for your insights and extremely helpful resources.
Just wondering how you know which of the themes available in a market is wordpress.org v .com. I searched specifically for wordpress.org theme but they were limited in comparison to general search. However I did notice themes I had seen previously in general market searches for best themes in that niche; but only one.. I want to start a food blog using wordpress.org. In choosing this does it limit my choice of theme. I may be looking in the wrong place and if so maybe you can point me in the right direction?
Thanks once again for great work.

WordPress.com doesn’t allow for custom themes, so all the themes that you see when searching on markets and other places are to be used with WordPress.org. So no, using WordPress.org doesn’t limit your options, it expands them.

Hello! I want to migrate to wordpress.org but temporarily, I would like to try out the personal plan of wordpress.com as I cannot afford hosting yet. If I migrate to wordpress.org, will I still have to pay for the plan I was using prior to the transfer in wordpress.com? Thanks!

If you signed up for a self-hosted WordPress.org site and wanted to move it to WordPress.com, then you’ll have to pay for the domain name. Most hosting companies do not offer trial plans. So make sure you understand their policies before signing up.

Similarly, if you signed up for WordPress.com’s free plan and bought a domain name, then you will have to pay for the domain name. The personal plan is free so you can migrate to a self hosted WordPress.org site when you are ready to do so.

I have a personal plan with a G Suite account attached to it on wordpress.com. If I want to transfer it to a self hosted wordpress.org site, will my G Suite account be ‘transferred’ as well or will I have to cancel the subscription I ordered on wordpress.com and set up a new G suite account for my wordpress.org site? I hope that makes sense.

You Gsuite account uses your domain name which is currently managed by WordPress.com. You can manage your domain name on WordPress.com and point it to your WordPress.org hosting provider. You can also move your domain to your new WordPress.org host. You will have to add G Suite A records to your domain settings. Contact Google, WordPress.com, and your new self hosted WordPress.org hosting provider to ensure smooth transition and detailed instructions.

i’m new to the whole wordpress and website scene but am considering to do some work on a website for my comapny myself to learn the basics and to have full control over the process.

We do already have a domain and a host – does it make sense to purchase a theme and use it with wordpress.org as a simple way of creating a decent website? Our website is super outdated and was created over 10 years ago by a former employee.

I currently have a blogspot blog but am wanting to rebrand transfer over and have been considering WordPress. I’m trying to decide between com and org. Everyone is cautioning me against org because I am far from tech savvy…how do I know if org is something I will be able to “handle?”

Excellent info – thank you! I started on WordPress.com and bought my domain through them with the premium package. Can I transfer that to WordPress.org or do I need to start over with a new domain name?

WordPress.com turned to be something different. I paid $35 to upgrade but since then, I can’t even install plugins and my site is struggling to survive. Is it daylight robbery? Please work for the betterment of your clients.

Thank you for this useful article. I’m trying to create a wordpress.org site but find that I’m being moved to.wordpress.com every move I make.
How do I even create wordpress.org account? I went to their website and was forced to download the app, which I think is .com , and also asked me for $129 to use my ow n domain.

So for someone who just wants a blog that friends can read and does not want to make money from it, I would be OK with WordPress.com? I understand from your notes above that the free version will show adverts but if I pay, I can elect not to have these. However, you quote the cost as dollars. I am in the UK, so if I set up my blog, will I get an option to pay in Sterling? Thanks

Great article! However, I have a question which some other readers may also experience. I have purchased Go Daddy’s WordPress Website product which includes hosting. Is having this product as good as using WordPress.org or more comparable to WordPress.com?

Hi! Thanks for the informative article. I have the same question as above and would like more clarity on it. I have purchased Go Daddy’s WordPress Website product which includes hosting (I think!) and if this is same as a WordPress.org site (as mentioned above) why am I always being prompted to upgrade to Personal, Premium or Business plans? Why not the WordPress.org plan? And if I am on WP.com and if I make the shift to WP.org how will it affect my URL? Will it be .org? I cannot remember visiting any blog with this sort of URL. Any response to my queries will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Most likely you are using a self-hosted WordPress.org site. The easiest way to check this is by installing a plugin, if you can install a plugin then you are using self-hosted WordPress.org site. For detailed explanation please contact GoDaddy support and they will be able to help you understand.

Thanks so much for your wonderful advice here! I am wanting to set up a webhost on Blue Host and then use WordPress.org for blogging. I will be moving my Blogger blog over. I have always worked from another computer (other than my home or phone) on my lunch hour and before and after office hours through my gmail account. If I set everything up that way – from another location than my home computer – will it all actually still be hosted only from my home computer? (I hate to sound so dumb – but I really don’t know or understand how these things work, I just use them.) I don’t want to do anything wrong or illegal, but have time limitations for setting things up at home and want them to work primarily from my homebase but be accessible everywhere that I go. Can I set it all up remotely or do I have to set up from home originally?

It will work just like your Blogger blog. Your WordPress site will live on your Bluehost hosting account it will be your website’s home on the internet. You will use your own domain name to access your website like (kaisercentergarage.com or google.com). You will be able to access your site on the internet from anywhere, using any device or computer.

Just to make this crystal clear for Johnny.
Wordpress sites don’t work on mobile by default (rather they can look horrible with loads of scrolling).
To have a site work (look good) on mobile is all about which THEME YOU USE and purchase. Although you’d think most themes should now work well on mobiles, there are still many out there that do not.

So when choosing a theme, ensure it is ‘Responsive’ because not all of them are. And ideally check it out live or at least view screenshots of the theme on mobile devices to double check it looks good on mobile, before you buy.

Some themes are better than others for mobile, and although they may say responsive, some cater better for all screen sizes than others do.

So just take a few minutes to check out the theme first before buying it

My church created a website on “wordpress.org” The administrator is handing over the administration duties to me because I have some web training. He created a New User and checked the “Administrator” role for me. He emailed me the password. I am able to log in to the /wordpress/wp-admin/profile.php Profile page and the /wordpress/wp-admin/index.php Dashboard page. When I am in the Dashboard page, I do not have any tools or controls present in the left-hand navigation pane. In the main body of the page, I have (2) text sentences with a vertical red bar to the left of them. The first message says “You’re using W3 Total Cache plugin. If Captcha by BestWebSoft doesn’t work properly, please clear the cache in W3 Total Cache plugin and turn on ‘Show CAPTCHA after the end of the page loading’ option on the plugin settings page.” When I click on the hyperlinked settings page, a new page is displayed with the message “Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page.” The second text sentence with the vertical red bar to the left says” No valid license key has been entered, so automatic updates for Envira Gallery have been turned off. Please click here to enter your license key and begin receiving automatic updates.” When I click on the blue hyperlink a new page is displayed that says, “Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page.” I have read several hours worth of help and FAQ’s and haven’t seen this scenario. Any help or suggestions about this matter will be greatly appreciated. My administrator and I are stumped for now.

Hello,Thanks for this comparison, it helped alot. However I’m still confused about one thing: what if I buy a domain and host my site through a different company (so I don’t go through wordpress itself), and then download WordPress from WordPress.ORG, can I then download a theme from WordPress.COM and use plugins? Ordoes it not matter when you’re hosted somewhere else, as long as you use a WordPress.COM theme, plugins are unavailable?Thank you for your answer!

Hello! I’ve been using for some time the free wordpress.com and now I want to go to next level. Normally I was planning to buy a domain and to upgrade my WP to the premium plan. Two days ago I received an email from for collaboration. I’ve read a bit on their site, look like is Self-Hosted WordPress, they have the Blue Host option and they move all your content on the new page. I don’t know what to do! Can I trust this site? Someone knows them? Thank you!

Thank you so much for your answer… but even though there is a tutorial on how to go for self-hosting, I’m afraid I’m gonna do something wrong. Plus this site that emailed me, BlueHost plans at different prices. The question is should I trust ? Please and thanx

This is an informative post. So, thank you for all the detail. I have been looking at WordPress dot com and they appear to have changed their hosting packages. Before you could not monetize but now you can if you have the premium package or above. Do all the above cons you listed still stand or just some of them? I did look at the forum and plug-ins are still not allowed. WordPress dot org does not host anything but rather directs the user to potential hosting companies. It almost looks like WordPress dot com is competing some with those hosts, but maybe not if the only con they appear to have removed is no monetization.

Hello,
Thanks for this comparison, it helped a lot. However I’m still confused about one thing: what if I buy a domain and host my site through a different company (so I don’t go through wordpress itself), and then download WordPress from WordPress.ORG, can I then download a theme from WordPress.COM and use plugins? Or does it not matter when you’re hosted somewhere else, as long as you use a WordPress.COM theme, plugins are unavailable?
Thank you for your answer!

Er, my blog address was removed by the moderator. How are the commentators going to help me if you don’t know my blog address? I understand that you do not want to direct traffic to my site, which is understandably fine, but I also hope that you guys would help me out with my problem. Just in case, you need the blog address it www dot india hypen travels dot com. Here’s sincerely hoping that you don’t delete this. Once my query is answered, probably I myself can delete this post. Thanks

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Get 20% off on minty, fresh, and well-organized WordPress themes by Mint Themes.

Featured In

About WPBeginner?

WPBeginner is a free WordPress resource site for Beginners. WPBeginner was founded in July 2009 by Syed Balkhi. The main goal of this site is to provide quality tips, tricks, hacks, and other WordPress resources that allows WordPress beginners to improve their site(s).